‘In ten years from now, tennis could be in danger’: Rafael Nadal

The World No. 1 has been seeded second in the Wimbledon this year.

The current World No. 1 and French Open champion Rafael Nadal has suggested some big changes in tennis. Rafael Nadal opened up on his suggestions to improve tennis as a sport in an interview with French outlet L’Equipe.

Nadal talked about the changes in the rules of tennis, specifically with the reference to serves. “I don’t know how, but we should be more careful about this story of serve and power in general,” Nadal said.

Nadal insisted that the growing power in serves is a sign of worry for the future of tennis. “Players are becoming bigger and faster. If we don’t find a solution for the serve, it will come a time when tennis will be about just this shot,” Nadal said.

The Spaniard implied that with such bulky serves, especially on grass and hard courts, players would find it very difficult to break at one point. Tennis will then be all about the serves, and the rallies will hardly be played.

“In ten years, tennis could be in danger,” Nadal added.

The World No.1 also talked about the change in the system of rankings in tennis. The current ranking system runs on a one-year basis, which Nadal would like to see a change in. “[Two year ranking] is the best way to protect players in case of an injury,” said Nadal.

“I have been thinking about it for years, but it would be even more important at the end of my career,” Nadal added.

However, there has been a consistent argument that Nadal’s proposed idea would only help the already established players, while the new players would find it incredibly difficult to climb up in the rankings.

Alternative to the current rules of serve –

• Increasing the service area by 10%, but decreasing the maximum serves on a point to one.
• Decreasing the service area by 10%, while maintaining the maximum serves on a point to two.